The Missing Piece to DEI Progress

My 12-year old son is a Master Lego Builder, but it takes a long time for him to successfully complete an entire kit. If he leaves the blocks out and a piece somehow becomes displaced (most likely because someone stepped on it and threw it out), he will not finish that two to four hundred dollar Lego kit. I don't know why I continue to buy him those Lego models because he may OR may not finish. One thing I know for sure, the chances of him NOT completing the model increases significantly IF there is a piece or two missing.

What does this have to do with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)? Everything. In a similar fashion, organizations keep hiring DEI leaders, who may or may not finish the work at hand. At issue is how long it takes to complete the work, the cost, and the fact that sometimes, missing pieces cause the value of and urgency for DEI to decline. What could be missing, Leah? I'm so glad you asked! Contrary to popular assumptions, the missing piece is not merely "support". For those of you who are in the Institute for Diversity Certification (IDC) professional credentialing program, this is a refresher; for others, this information may be new. Nevertheless, for anyone who seeks to make significant progress in 2022 and beyond, strategy will be the most important piece that is often missing from effective DEI work.

After George Floyd's murder, I spoke with a lot of people who were in the process of getting certified in DEI. Many said they were new to the role. I asked, what type of progress do you expect to achieve? Some said they were glad the leadership team read books about DEI. I asked, what can they do with that knowledge? A few said they were happy their CEO participated in a listening tour. I asked, what happens after the tour? In all of these scenarios, there were no clear cut answers pertaining to the strategy for progress.

As LinkedIn reports that D&I Managers are the fastest growing jobs in 2022 for the second year in a row, my concern is that there isn't enough focus on strategic initiatives. For example, a few years ago, corporations rushed to do Unconscious Bias training. Many organizations found that the training was not effective because there were plenty of descriptions about unconscious bias but very few prescriptions for change. More recently, schools and employers sought to deliver training on Critical Race Theory (CRT). Politicians began running for office solely based on their opposition to CRT, states began passing measures aimed at restricting CRT education, and even some Evangelical groups are providing parents with online classes to counteract CRT training. Nevertheless, the data shows that non-White parents make up the majority of U.S. public school students (even in the suburbs) and they support CRT education. Now what?

A good strategy requires that you clearly delineate the risks and rewards, and make decisions based on the possible scenarios. For example, in the 1960's, the Civil Rights leaders formed purposeful protests with good strategies. They worked out the conditional details such as 'IF...THEN' so that they could properly determine the risks and rewards. In computer science, conditionals are programming language commands for handling decisions. For instance, there may be four possible directions that this initiative can take, the first is A, the second is B, the third is C, and the final path is D. If B happens, then 123. Or if A occurs, then 456.

An effective strategy, then, must be built within the construct of a solid DEI strategic plan. The foundation of the Office of DEI is change. The word change is a verb that means to replace one thing for another or to become different. Change in business often denotes that a company must engage in a process in which they alter their organization for a structured purpose. Rather than making changes for the sake of change, organizations must have a plan for change that improves current processes or maximizes profit. Change management can involve defining new business values or behaviors, generating an agreement to better meet the needs of customers or stakeholders, or transitioning the company's organizational structure to improve operations.

In other words, the plan for change will seek to accomplish organizational goals. This means that Strategic Diversity planning becomes an ongoing process that maps, controls, and evaluates an organization’s DEI efforts so that specific goals can be achieved.  Additionally, the DEI Strategic Plan will challenge the organization to ask the right questions, as well as clearly define its vision for access, inclusion, and belonging.

A great strategy also entails intentionality. This requires that your mental power and efforts are directed towards specific outcomes. Here, it is necessary for DEI leaders to distinguish between ACTIVITY and IMPACT. See, you could get busy doing a whole lot of things in this field; but at the end of the day, those "things" will not move the needle. Activities are not bad in and of themselves. They are only bad if they are not connected to the broader strategy and the results that should be produced. Think of the desired outcomes as what you ultimately want your DEI effort to accomplish; activities as what you will do to get there; and indicators as the gauge of whether, and to what degree, you are making progress.

Finally, the strategy is going to focus on a few (one to three) objectives. I get into many heated discussions about DEI objectives that are unfulfilled. I am told that DEI leaders "think big" and love to "overachieve" so they set like 20 ambitious goals. That's too many. In Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, author Richard Rumelt says, "Good strategy works by focusing energy and resources on one, or a very few, pivotal objectives whose accomplishment will lead to a cascade of favorable outcomes."

If our purpose is progress, then we must be clear about our strategy for getting there. A true strategy is different from the vision, mission, goals, priorities, and DEI tools. We'll define a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy as the proactive process of steering an organization toward sustainable, long-term success through inclusion, cultural competence, market segmentation, and equitable service.  These elements are critical to the proper growth and development of the organization, as well as vital components of employee recruitment, retention, and engagement. An effective DEI strategy will serve as a component of the organizational strategy, which requires integration. Ultimately, your strategy can help determine what to do, as well as what you should not be doing.

If you desire better results, look no further than your strategy. It will be the missing piece to the puzzle of ineffectiveness. Finally, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for your leadership team to buy-into the DEI strategy, understand its purpose, and own it.

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Leah Smiley, CDE®, is the President of the Society for Diversity Inc. For details about The Society for Diversity's educational programs, visit: www.societyfordiversity.org. For information about the Institute for Diversity Certification's industry-recognized CDP® and CDE® credentials, visit: www.diversitycertification.org